Water Is Thicker Than Blood
by SketchyCord
Summary: What would've happened if the core four had successfully run away during The Aftermath in S3? They would've redefined true love, and the meaning of friendship. SS RM I do not own the OC!
1. The Runaways

**The Runaways**

[AN: So, basically this is about how Summer, Seth, Ryan and Marissa actually run away to Catalina during The Aftermath in season three. I'm sure this has been done before, but I don't see the fic, and I just watched the episode again today, so it inspired me. I do not own the OC FYI. The Italics are actual dialogue from the episode. All else was written by me. Please review, this took a long time to write

_The door bell rings, and the door is opened to reveal Marissa on the other side. _

_"Where is he?" Marissa asked Seth, getting right to the point. _

_"Um, he's not really seeing visitors right now." Seth replied._

_"We're kinda giving him his space." Summer added, wringing her hands. _

_Marissa scoffed, and headed in the direction of the pool house. _

_"This should go well." Seth said to Summer sarcastically. _

_"Right behind you Coop." Summer called as she and Seth followed her. _

_"Hey," Marissa greeted Ryan as she entered the pool house, with Seth and Summer hot on her heels. _

_"Hey." Ryan responded, not bothering to look up from packing his duffel bag. _

_"Hoody, wife beater, leather jacket, that's the Ryan Atwood escapist ensemble." Seth remarked, observing his friend packing. _

_"That's right, doesn't matter what I say, no one's gonna believe me anymore." Ryan said, sounding adamant about his decision to leave._

_"Dude, you're not running away," Said Seth to his brother, not sure this was the best idea. _

_"Yeah, yeah I am." Replied an unyielding Ryan as he continued to pack his things. _

_"No, no you're not," Said Marissa, seemingly not deterred by Ryan's previous statements. "You're sailing, and we're coming with you." Marissa confidently added. Summer thought this over. _

_"Yes, since apparently there's boats involved, which is my forte." Seth said, gesturing toward himself. _

_"Totally, we all go down together." Summer agreed, earning an appraising eye brow raise from Ryan. She'd basically summed up everyone's feelings. Ryan glanced at Marissa, as if to say 'You guys sure about this, and Marissa's own glance and shrug said 'Hell yeah, so get used to it.'_

_Never a man to waste too much energy through speaking, Ryan's responses to his friends' pledge was a "Thanks." He zipped up his duffel. _

Marissa and Summer couldn't possibly risk going back to their respective homes to pack. Instead, they looked through the drawers they kept spare clothes in at the Cohen home, which was enough for a department store between the two of them. The boys gathered as much cash as they could, and they were finally packed.

"We should bike or skate board there, because we don't need our parents immediately tipped off that we're gone." Seth suggested. So they gathered the two bikes the Cohen's had, and Summer used one bike and strapped her bag to it, while Ryan did the same on another. Seth used his skate board for the first time in a while. Much like a day a few years ago, Marissa rode on the back of Ryan's bike, too bad the circumstances were not as happy this time.

_Mere minutes after the core four left the Cohen home, Sandy pulled up. He walked to the pool house and knocked. "Hello, I'm back, " He called as he entered the pool house. He looked around and noticed its emptiness. On his way there, he'd observed that the main house was empty too. He heard the door bell ring, so he went to the door. He found himself face to face with police officers. _

_"We're looking for Ryan Atwood," an officer told Sandy in a stern tone. He handed Sandy a paper, or attempted to. _

_"You're a little late I'm afraid." Sandy replied to the man. _

_Sandy must've phoned Julie, because she spoke with him as she entered Marissa's room in search of the girls. _

_"No, she's not here either, and she left for your house hours ago Sandy." Julie reported after a quick look around Marissa's room. "You don't think they'd try anything, do you?" Julie inquired. Jimmy opened the door to find Julie getting off the phone with Sandy. _

_"What's going on?" He asked, looking apprehensive of Julie's reply. _

_"The cops are at Sandy's house, the kids are gone, we don't know where they went." Julie hurriedly summed up as she walked past him and out the door. _

_Summer, Seth, Ryan, and Marissa were at the dock. "You don't think your dad will miss the boat?" Summer asked Marissa pointedly. _

_"Oh, he of all people will understand," Marissa said, and added, "But we gotta hurry." _

_"Let's go." Seth called, trying to get his friends to hurry up with the loading. _

_"Hey man, how long is it to Catalina?" Ryan asked Seth. _

_"About four hours, from there we can go wherever you want, Mexico, Hawaii..." Seth trailed off, to convey that the options were many. _

_"Hey, you guys, I gotta say, you can get in a lot of trouble for this, so if you wanna back out..." Ryan offered, because this was pretty serious stuff, aiding and abetting and what not. _

_"Are you kidding," Seth asked in disbelief, "This is a great excuse to skip school." _

_"It's not forever, it's just until we can get Trey to change his story." Marissa told Ryan, assuring him that this wouldn't have as big of an impact on them as he thought, even though they all knew it would. _

[AN: This is the part in the episode where the police show up, this is what would have happened if the police hadn't figured out their location

The four of friends went out into the deep, deep ocean. Summer, Ryan, and Marissa huddled in a circle near the steering wheel, where Seth was sailing the boat. Once it was on the right track, Seth sat down and joined his friends.

"I want to say that I'm really glad you guys came with me. It's a lot better than being alone. I'll always be grateful for this." Ryan told his friends, smiling because they were there, but sad that they'd jeopardized their futures over him.

"Look, Atwood, don't think we're doing you any favors, because what are best friends for? I'll tell you what they're for. They're for running away with you when you're about to be convicted for attempted murder, that's what." Summer said, leaning over to hug Ryan, and thus initiating a group hug.

"Yeah," Marissa began when she pulled back, "I think I speak for everyone when I say that, in these circumstances, there's no where else we'd rather be."

"Completely. I mean, who knows, maybe being on the run will be fun." Seth added, trying to lighten the mood. He got glares from everyone, but Summer seemed to have a change of heart.

"You know what, this is going to be ok. I mean, come on, we should make the best of it. If we were in Newport, we'd be miserable no matter what." Summer stated truthfully. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"There won't be any water polo players to beat me up, no annoying teachers..." Seth trailed off.

"No people you've shot." Marissa said glumly. Summer bit her lip at the mentioning of the real reason they were running away.

"I guess it's good to be honest with ourselves about why we're doing this. No euphemisms, and stuff. We should just put it all out there, right now." Summer put in. As much as they all wanted to just run away from everything, they also knew they had to deal with the elephants in the room.

"Ok. So, in the spirit of forthcoming-ness, about my parents, now dad probably already knows we're gone, and it's only a matter of time before Julie realizes how long you've been gone, Riss. And then they'll realize Summer isn't at Marissa's, or at our place, and they'll know we've run." Seth said in a melancholy monotone.

"And soon, people will realize that the Cooper's boat is gone, put two and two together..." Summer trailed off in horror.

"It's okay, though, for two reasons. First, yes they'll try to track down the boat, which is why we turned the GPS off before we left. Second, my dad will know what happened, and he will try to cover us." Marissa explained. Summer, Seth, and Ryan all looked doubtful.

"No offense, Riss, but your dad isn't exactly the type to do the right thing. I am having flash backs to the fight at cotillion right now." Seth skeptically stated.

"I have to agree with Cohen on this one, Coop. I really wish he would do that, though." Summer sighed.

"I dunno, we just have to hope Jimmy will do the right thing. I just wish there was some way we could contact him, so he could give us a sign." Ryan muttered.

"Yeah, that's another thing. We can't contact anyone until we are out of the country. But hopefully, it won't have to come to that." Seth told his friends, who nodded solemnly.

"So, we need to be ready to go in the morning for Catalina. I'm gonna go make sure every thing is in order." Ryan mumbled as he got up from where they were sitting.

"I'll come too." Marissa told Ryan. They walked around the room, quietly gathering everything they needed, occasionally muttering something to each other. Seth and Summer walked outside into the now cool night air.

"Cohen. This is serious. Very, very serious. I know we said this wouldn't be permanent, but we could be on the run for a long time." Said Summer in a quiet voice.

"I know Sum. I know. But it's going to be alright. I know you're going to miss your dad and stuff, the thing is Ryan..." Seth began, before Summer cut him off.

"Look, Ryan is your brother. He's your best friend. He's Marissa boy friend. I want to help Ryan, because he's also my good friend. I'm not here because I feel obligated to, I'm here because I care about all of you. Especially you, Cohen." Summer whispered.

They were within inches of each other, fingers entwined. "I just wanted to make sure that you were ok with being here, and..." Seth began, once again getting cut off.

"I love you, Cohen, I love you this much. That's why I'm here." Summer mumbled, her mouth about an inch from his.

Inside, Ryan and Marissa collected their things and also looked sadly at their two best friends.

"I know we're all in this together, but..." Ryan said, leaving Marissa to finish his sentence.

"You still feel bad for dragging them into this. I understand, but they said they wanted to come, and honestly Ryan, I don't think we'd be able to do this without them, and not just because Seth is the one that knows how to use the boat. They're our friends, and we need them, and I don't think they would've been able to handle it if we'd left them behind." Marissa filled in the gaping hole in Ryan's sentence.

Seth and Summer walked in, and Seth made sure the boat was going the right direction. "Three hours til we're in Catalina. We should sleep in shifts. One person for every hour." Seth suggested.

"That means one person won't have a shift, though," Summer pointed out.

"Well, Summer, you shouldn't have to do a shift." Seth chivalrously offered.

"As if, Cohen, I am the person who needs the least sleep of all of you. I have no purpose of even being here, I'm practically dead weight. Cohen mans the ship, Ryan is the one on the run, and Marissa, well, she and Ryan are attached at the hip, they can't exactly be separated." Summer explained.

"You are _not _dead weight, Sum. We need you here." Marissa stated, at which point Seth and Ryan nodded in complete agreement. "But since you and Seth are going to argue all night about this, why don't we all stay up instead. We have a lot to talk about." Marissa suggested.

"That is a fine, fine idea Marissa. The best you've ever had." Seth stated truthfully.

"So, Seth, right about now, you should be thanking yours truly." Marissa cockily told her friend.

"And why is this Marissa?" Seth asked as he pulled Summer into his lap.

"Because, Summer never would've kissed you that time on the boat if it weren't for me telling her you liked her." Marissa grinned.

"Oh, that time Summer said she'd kill Seth if he told anyone? Oh yeah, I remember that." Ryan added, raising his eyebrows.

"Ha, yeah...wait...Cohen, you told Ryan? After I made you promise not to?" Summer shook her head in mock anger.

"I can make it up to you!" Seth declared kissing her sweetly.

"Bleh, you two, no making out." Said Ryan, sticking his tongue out at Summer and Seth.

"Yeah," Marissa said giggling. Seth and Summer smiled widely at their two friends. They looked happier than they had in days. They spent hours like that, laughing and talking. Around dusk, things got a little dark in their conversation. But the sun started to come up, shedding some light on their dark situation.


	2. Barely Legal

**Barely Legal**

[AN: Thanks to all who reviewed, but a lot more of you read than reviewed. :( Some people are subscribing to the story who didn't review, so please review this time, **5 or more reviews **or there will be no new post. The title is from The Stroke's song Barely Legal.

"Okay, so we're here, in Catalina. And now, we have to get out of here." Seth mumbled as he pulled Summer to her feet, and Ryan and Marissa groggily rose. They had logged in 30 minutes of sleep that night, combined.

"Alright. So, step one, should we sell the boat here or sell the boat in Mexico/Hawaii?" Marissa asked her friends.

"Hold on a sec." Summer said as she whipped out her cell phone. It had beeped, signally a text. It was a black berry. "It says 'Summer, this is Sandy. Give the phone to Ryan.' "

Summer handed him the phone, confused. Ryan read his part of the message, aloud. "It says, 'He's not budging.' " Ryan glumly announced. "It also says to give the phone to Seth." Ryan added morosely. Marissa rubbed his back.

"It says, 'Do not resort to the map.' Then it says, 'Hand the phone to Summer.' " Seth mumbled. He knew what it meant immediately.

"It says 'Remember the day I helped you take Seth off the roof? Go to your un-reached destination.' Then it says to give the phone to Marissa." Summer finished slowly, mulling it over.

"'Reply when you arrive.'" Marissa read in a sad voice. She had no idea what anything Mr. Cohen had said meant, except that, and it wasn't reassuring. "What does all this mean?" Marissa asked her friends.

"Well, his message to me was that Trey wasn't changing his story." Ryan offered.

"Damn. That sucks." Seth grumbled in despair. "In his message to me, I think he was trying to say to steer clear of the Pacific Ocean, you know, my map of the Pacific Ocean. Too late for that, but perhaps Summer's clue can help us out." Seth hoped, as did all the others.

"The spider man costume, that was last year when Cohen and I got back together in the rain. He says to go to my un-reached destination...which was..." Summer muttered, feeling the pieces coming together in her brain, "Italy! With Zack! He's saying to go to Italy, Cohen. He's so smart, you'd never know he was your dad." Summer joked lightly.

"Uh huh," Said Seth sticking his tongue out at Summer. "But wait a second people, we gotta think outside the box, inside the box, and the area above the box. We are dealing with Sandy Cohen here. We must_ be_ the box. Ok, so here's the thing...what if he is just trying to trick us into going to Italy so we do the 'right thing' and talk to the feds? Hmm, what about that?" Seth skeptically put out there.

"Good point Seth." Ryan said as he got up and began to gather their bags.

"So what's the plan?" Summer asked Seth confused.

"I don't know, Summer, all I know is that under no circumstances are we going to Italy." Seth stated as he helped Ryan double check that they weren't missing anything.

"But, I'm confused, he thinks we might be..." Marissa trailed off.

"Headed to somewhere in the Pacific, yes," Seth started.

"But two things are obvious, A-He has no idea how or where, and B-Things are not good in Newport, so, we are not complying with orders from there." Ryan finished.

"No rendezvousing with the enemy. And I'm sorry, but if dad wants Ryan to turn himself over to the feds, then he is the enemy." Said Seth, earning an emphatic nod from Ryan, who walked out of the room in search of a radio.

"Any chance you're reading too much into this Cohen?" Summer asked, raising and eyebrow, and Marissa cocked her head to the side in wonder.

Seth seemed to contemplate this. "Nope, not a chance, now, next matter on the docket is, ah, yes, to sell the boat or not to sell the boat. Marissa, you may have the Speaking Sock." Seth said, tossing a sock in Marissa's general direction. He motioned for everyone to sit.

"Okay, Seth first I would like to say that this whole 'Speaking Sock' thing is really stupid." Marissa said with a big fat fake grin.

"I second that motion Coop! Let's get rid of the Speaking Sock!" Summer said, snatching it and tossing it to Ryan, who zipped it up in his duffel bag.

"Here's the thing, you guys. I think we have to get out of the country, as soon as possible. We have a few obstacles in our way. 1) None of us are 18. And 2) We could be on wanted lists already." Marissa told her friends.

"True Marissa. Which means we have to go somewhere where being barely legal isn't exactly an object." Summer stated.

"So, what, like TJ or something?" Marissa asked, remembering that the four of them had had no problem getting around despite being 15 years old at the time.

"No, because 1) That's too close to Newport for comfort, and 2) They probably expect something like that from us." Seth explained.

"We need to get out of the country, now." Ryan announced as he came in the room with the radio. No one asked why, though confusion and worry was etched onto their faces. Suddenly, something came blaring on the radio.

"In breaking news fugitive Ryan Atwood of Orange County, California has been MIA since yesterday, He was about to be charged with attempted manslaughter when police were informed by his guardian and prominent Newport activist that he had vacated his home. Atwood, who has a checkered past, is five feet nine inches tall, 17 years old, and has blond hair and blue eyes. It is suspected that his 17 year old girlfriend, Marissa Cooper, who is five feet ten inches tall, of thin build, and has blue eyes and blond hair is also on the run with him. She is involved in the case at hand. Close friends of the two, 17 year old Seth Cohen, who is five feet eleven inches tall, slight, brown eyes and black hair is also suspected to be with them, as is Summer Roberts, another close friend of the pair, who is five feet two inches tall, and has black hair and brown eyes. So far, there are no leads pertaining to their whereabouts. Keep an eye out for these four, they will be traveling together, and could be a threat." Then they went on talking about Ryan's dangerous past and how it was imperative he be found. Marissa turned it off, and looked at the disheartened faces of her friends.

"Come on, you guys, this is not a death sentence. We just have to change our appearances a little, not use credit cards, and we'll be fine. Also, we shouldn't travel as a group, we'll be less conspicuous that way." Marissa confidently suggested. She had to rally her friends, because without their confidence, they had just about nothing else.

"Come on you guys, there was some good news in that report," Summer began, and Ryan's face challenging her statement. "They don't know where we are, and they don't know we have a radio." Summer elaborated.

"This is true, this is true." Seth agreed. Marissa nodded in silent agreement, too.

"But that doesn't change the fact that people are looking for us." Ryan put in, and added, "Here's what we gotta do. Step 1) Modify our appearances, and Step 2)Get the hell out of the country. But, you guys can still go. If you go now, you can get out of this. They only think you're with me, but they don't know for sure..." Ryan trailed off.

"Dude, there is no 'if.' We're coming with you, at least I am." Seth asserted.

"I am way beyond the point of return now, Ryan. You're important to me, I have to do this." Said Summer.

"We love you Ry, it's like Seth said, there is no 'if,' it's a question of 'How are we going to get through this, _together.'_" Marissa added.

"Alright then, let's go." Ryan told his friends. First, he and Summer walked out, because they felt they would attract less attention this way. Summer was wearing huge sunglasses that covered half her small face.

"So, where do you think we can find a drug store?" Summer asked expectantly.

"Good thinking. Um, I think there's one right over there." Ryan murmured, pointing at a dinky shop on the next block.

"I know." Summer smirked as she grabbed his hand to make him run.

Marissa and Seth waited impatiently for their significant others to return. Or more like, Seth was about to have a break down and Marissa was struggling to keep her cool. Seth nervously drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Seth, Seth, we have got to stop worrying." Marissa told Seth, feeling genuinely sorry for him. He cared for Summer more than was good for him, and with and that combined with worrying about Ryan was way too much for him to handle. If he hadn't come with Ryan on the run, he probably would've died from stress.

"How?" Seth asked, shaking (think that episode where Seth, Zack, and Summer are in San Diego and Seth hasn't slept in a long time x10 for the shaking quotient).

"Um, when I was younger, I used to worry a lot, and I used to make lists..." Marissa started, but Seth cut her off.

"What? Me too. Creepy." Seth muttered, his eye now twitching slightly.

"We're more alike than you think," Marissa shrugged, earning an appraising stare from Seth.

"I suppose you're right Marissa. But you're not that much like me, don't flatter yourself Cooper Scooper." Seth grinned.

"Whatever you say, Cohen...Cohen..." Marissa tried to retort, but to no avail, taking their minds off Summer and Ryan for a little while.

Summer and Ryan had successfully made it to and from the drug store without drawing too much attention to themselves. They were climbing into the boat, and they had some news.

"Hark, in the distance Lady Marissa, I see Sir Ryan and and My Fair Lady Summer baring gifts." Seth cried as he scooped Summer into his arms and kissed her soundly on the mouth. Both wanted to deepen it, but obviously, there was other work to be done right now.

"So, we have hair extensions, hair dye, lifts, makeup, and a hair curler/straightener." Summer announced as she began handing out the appropriate boxes to people.

"I have to dye my hair?" Marissa asked glumly. Ryan and Seth's faces were wrought with horror at their own boxes of dye.

"We all have to make sacrifices, ok? I am dying my hair dark red." Summer spat in annoyance. Not at Marissa, but at the stupid box of red hair dye. "I mean, like ew! I also have to wear lifts in my shoes to look taller. And I have to use this makeup to look paler, and color my eyebrows lighter." Summer sighed.

"We'll make it fun." Seth mumbled quietly. Marissa and Ryan's ears perked up, as did Summer's.

"What?" Marissa asked confused, but Ryan got the gist of it. They had to comfort the girls the only way they knew how. By making them laugh. They couldn't stand to see their girlfriends so forlorn.

"We are going to make the best of this. So, you guys can go ahead and give us our makeovers." Said Ryan. Under any other circumstances, he would never agree to this.

"Alright, so Cohen, we're straightening out your hair." Summer stated, bracing herself for his protests.

"Ok." Seth replied, walking into the bathroom and plugging the straightener in. Summer walked over and began to straighten his hair out.

"Believe me Cohen, this is just as hard for me as it is for you." Summer told him.

"It's ok, because this mop is pretty recognizable, it has to go." Seth mumbled.

"Cohen, Cohen, this hair is part of your Cohen-ness, I will admit, but, who knows, maybe you'll look even hotter with straight hair." Summer seductively whispered into his ear.

"Um, um, okay, whatever you say Summer, yes." Seth sheepishly grinned.

"Seth and Summer have locked themselves in the bathroom, Ry." Marissa announced wearily. The lack of sleep had definitely caught up with her.

"Hey, Riss, take a break if you need to." Ryan said, gently taking Marissa into his arms.

"No, Ry, it's ok. I know you're just trying to get out of dying your hair brown." Marissa teased.

"Meh. Maybe I am, or maybe I'm just trying to be a good boyfriend." Ryan said in a low voice.

"Mmm. I want to make out so bad right now," Marissa grumbled, pouting.

"I know, but for now, we need to get your hair dyed 'Brilliant Black,' and mine dyed 'Brunette Bombshell.'" Ryan replied, pulling Marissa towards the bathroom.

An hour later, everyone's hair was dyed, except Seth's, he had just straightened it and cut it. It looked kinda hot. (Really no different than it looks in the third season, I couldn't bring myself to dye Seth's hair).

"Thank god this hair isn't permanent," Summer declared as she ran her hands through her now auburn-red locks.

"Yeah, we look stupid." Ryan put it simply. He grimaced when he saw his brown hair in the mirror.

"The black hair doesn't really go well with my coloring." Marissa flatly stated. Summer had curled it for her, in tight ringlets. It didn't look half bad. Sorta.

"Summer and Marissa look beautiful no matter what." Seth stated sweetly, smiling cheekily.

"Cohen, you still aren't getting any." Summer playfully muttered.

"Ew." Ryan breathed under his breath.

"Time to go to Mexico, casting off!" Seth announced happily.

Ryan and Marissa curled up in a blanket on the floor, giggling and laughing. Summer smiled at them sadly. Their happiness was always so transient.

Back in Newport...

Kirsten had returned from rehab, after Sandy told her the news. She wasn't furious with him, because they had a common goal, and she completely understood why he'd kept it from her. She was, of course, sad he'd had to, and they could hash it out later. But for now, they were both equally focused on finding their boys.

"Where would they go?" Kirsten asked as she entered the house, and dropped her things on the ground.

"I don't know Kirsten. Seth's boat is docked in the harbor, and so far they're credit cards haven't shown up anywhere." Sandy stated as he and Kirsten sat down on the couch.

"They're too smart for their own good. They must have raided the cash before they left." Kirsten glumy said.

"Yeah, they did. They took two thousand dollars in cash. Also, they must have gone by foot to the airport or rented a car with the money, because the cars are all still here." Sandy told Kirsten.

"Damn it. Both those boys are experienced in running away. Summer is clever in this weird way, Seth thinks out of the box, Ryan is so prudent, and Marissa is a great leader. They're the perfect combination. It's going to be hard to catch them." Kirsten forlornly groaned.

"Well, I sent them a message telling them to go to Italy, so we could meet them there and get Ryan incarcerated. But..." Sandy trailed off, and Kirsten finished his sentence for him.

"They know what your plan was, Sandy. They figured it out, and now they are never coming back!" Kirsten cried as she ran out of the living room in despair. Clearly, she was not yet stable. But who is truly stable enough to handle their two boys running away with their girlfriends, without a trace, except maybe Sandy Cohen?

Hours into the future, the core four had made it safely to La Paz, Mexico. [AN: For purposes of the story, the security at the air port is very, very lax. The fabulous four hopped onto a plane to...


	3. The Model Home

**The Model Home**

"Hey, Ry," Marissa said softly, "We've landed." Marissa gently shook her boyfriend. She was really sorry to wake him, because he hadn't looked this peaceful in days.

"Hey Riss." Ryan quietly mumbled. He rose in his seat to face Marissa.

"We should wake Seth and Summer," He groggily said, and Marissa nodded in agreement.

They turned around to face their two best friends, who were asleep, Summer's head rested on Seth's chest, and Seth's head rested on Summer's. They looked completely sweet and innocent sleeping there, their faces expressing complete contentment.

"Seth," Ryan said, poking his friend in the ribs. It was really easy because they were almost visible.

"Morning," Seth uttered sleepily. He looked down to see Summer asleep. He smiled a bittersweet smile. "Wake up Sunshine..." Seth mumbled into Summer's ear.

"Morning Cohen." Summer replied, giving him a quick peck and then quickly sitting upright.

"Thank you for flying Air America, and enjoy your stay in England." The flight attendant said over the PA. The four friends exited the plane. England had been the obvious choice because it was a country where most people spoke English, and they could quickly blend in because for Americans[AN: So I hear... it is easy to pick up an English accent after living there for a little while.

"So, The London Inn, sounds like a good place." Ryan said after they'd walked about for a while. The London Inn was a quaint place that looked affordable, but also clean.

"It has a certain charm." Marissa remarked, referring to its old fashioned exterior. Or maybe she was just trying to be optimistic. Their vision was clouded with a hazy desire to be happy and free from their worries.

"True Coop. So, let's go on in." Summer stated, as she took Seth and Marissa's hands, and led them.

"Morning. How can I help you lot?" The teenager at the front desk asked. She looked around their age, which was promising.

"We need a room, with two beds." Marissa told the girl.

"What's a bunch of you yanks doing here?" The girl, whose name tag read Janet, inquired.

"We're taking a year off from school." Seth lied expertly.

"That'll be 5 pounds a night," Janet told the group.

Summer handed Janet the money, and in exchange she gave them the key.

"Do you know where we could possibly jobs?" Ryan asked Janet.

"Um, there's loads of teenagers working around here, this is a pretty popular place for people like yourselves to stay, you see, so probably at the cafes, and there's some construction jobs too. They don't pay much, but it's not bad." Janet offered kindly. She noticed that all four of them had black rings under their eyes, and puffy eyes. They looked out of sorts, to put it mildly.

"Thanks!" Marissa exclaimed in a friendly tone, and the four of them made their way up the stairs to their room.

"This isn't half bad," Ryan said when they entered their small room. Though it wasn't roomy, it was clean and orderly, to some extent.

"Much better than that time in TJ, I mean that was just ew." Summer stated, remembering the 'ew' motel they'd stayed in over night.

"We...we should call my dad. Or our parents, any of them, to tell them we're alright." Seth mumbled.

"I guess it's okay now, we can just use our phones, it's safe, since we're out of the country and all." Marissa agreed.

"Yeah, and maybe Sandy will give us some news." Ryan added in a hopeful voice. Summer nodded.

So Seth dialed the number, and all of them impatiently gathered around, listening to the ringing. They all cringed when Sandy's booming "Hello!" Answered. Clearly, he hadn't looked at the caller ID.

"Dad, it's Seth. And Ryan, Marissa, and Summer." Seth said in an anxious voice.

"Oh my god! How are you guys?" Sandy asked frantically.

"We're fine." Seth replied in a causal tone.

"So I guess you guys aren't exactly coming back to Newport anytime soon?" Sandy inquired, probing the kids for information.

"You rarely ever advance a case by giving out information, as you would say dad." Seth smartly retorted, turning the tables on Sandy.

"You know too much about how the world works," Sandy replied slowly, and he sounded sad. "Then I suppose I can just give you some news, take it as you will. Trey seems to be having some 'memory loss', which may have influenced his testimony, so they will be questioning him again after his therapy is over in 3 months. Meanwhile, I have encouraged the police to do some investigation on a check that Trey has in his possession for 10,000 dollars from Julie Cooper. Interesting fact, isn't it?" Sandy told the kids, waiting for their reactions.

"Bitch!" Summer angrily whisper-yelled.

"It makes sense..." Ryan muttered. Marissa just shook her head silently, looking seriously pissed off.

"So, she tried to frame Ryan by paying Trey off." Seth shortly added to his friends' comments.

"That's what I think. Anyway, the bottom line is they're still looking for Ryan and they suspect you all are with him. The feds suspected you might call me, and told me to pass along the message that you have a week of amnesty; come back within seven days of when you were last seen and Seth, Summer, and Marissa will be scot free, though Ryan will, of course, still be charged. I think this is the option you kids should take, because once the time is up, you're all being charged with aiding and abetting a felon's escape. Also, once they know for sure that you've crossed county lines, it's a matter for the FBI to handle. Don't get yourselves mixed up with them." Sandy instructed, but he knew it was for naught. And to be honest, a part of him was proud of the bravery of the kids had, even though it was completely stupid.

"We'll be back when they drop the charges against Ryan. Keep us updated if you can." Marissa shortly said.

"You guys are making a mistake, but since there's nothing I can do about it, I advise you guys of one thing; stick together. I'll call you when there's news." Said Sandy. And then the line went dead.

"Well that was a perfectly pleasant conversation. I really felt the approval flow between both sides." Seth sarcastically commented as he dropped his phone on the bed.

"Whatever, at least we got some information," Marissa optimistically stated.

"There's some hope." Summer added, and even cynical Seth had to agree with that.

"True, true..."Ryan trailed off.

"Well I seriously need a shower." Summer said as she pulled a piece of her dyed dark red hair out of its haphazard pony tail and examined it.

"Mind if I join you?" Seth asked, wiggling his eye brows suggestively.

"Nice visual you've given us," Marissa scoffed in half real annoyance, the other half was mildly amused.

"Your wild imagination is not my responsibility." Seth retorted, his eyes fixated on Summer.

"Sorry Cohen, not now," Summer teased, and added in a low whisper in his ear,"Cuz you know nothing would get done."

"Ok, enough whispering." Ryan said, totally grossed out, "Marissa and Summer can go see if you can shower first, Seth and I will wait." Said Ryan, as he tossed Summer and Marissa towels from one of the bags. Summer and Marissa left the room, leaving one satisfied Ryan and one very disappointed Seth in their midst. Seth swung his legs over the edge of the bed and kicked it in annoyance.

"Way to salt my game dude." Seth whined to his best friend. Ryan didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, he pretended to be fascinated with the sheets on his bed.

"So, on to a more important matter. Money." Ryan said flatly to his best friend.

"I didn't know you were money oriented." Said Seth to his friend in a tone of mock disappointment. Really, he knew it was necessary for their survival, and though he'd never had a shortage of it when they'd lived in Newport, they might soon.

"You know what I mean, Seth. We have around 15,000 dollars, combined from selling the yacht and taking from the safe, but that will only last us so long. We need to get jobs. I'll probably work at that construction yard part time, and you should work at one of the cafes around here." Ryan suggested.

"You saying I couldn't hold down a job in the construction industry?" Seth asked, earning raised eyebrows from Ryan, which conveyed, 'Duh...' "Alright, point taken, but what about the girls?" Seth continued.

"They won't _need _to get jobs, but if I know Summer and Marissa, they'll want to get them anyway to help out." Ryan stated.

"True. Ah, look, Summer's bracelet." Seth muttered, gesturing towards the charm bracelet sitting on the bedside table. There was no specific purpose for mentioning it, but Seth couldn't stand silences.

"Yeah. That was the best gift idea you have ever had." Ryan remarked. He sounded serious, but it was more of a joke.

"Since when did you try out being funny? Because, no offense man, but as they say in fashion "That color really doesn't suit you." Seth mumbled.

Ryan nodded sleepily, and murmured, "Fashion analogies about minty..." Marissa and Summer entered the room clad only in towels, but Seth restrained himself from commenting. Almost.

"That's a fabulous look for you guys, you should wear that more often." Seth grinned.

Summer rolled her eyes. "Sure, Cohen, but you won't be able to see cuz I'll have given you a black eye ass hat!" Summer exclaimed.

"Glad to see you've regained your former exuberance, sunshine," Seth drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You two, no more banter. Now, Ryan, Seth--shower." Marissa ordered everyone. Too tired to argue anymore, Seth simply complied, and Ryan got up in a haze, walking in the general direction of the door.

"Aw, look, the bracelet you guys got for me for my birthday." Summer said, smiling sadly as she picked it up.

"Yeah. We bought so many charms for it. I remember Seth knocked over the glass case with all the engagement rings in it, and then we got kicked out of the store." Marissa smiled, fondly remembering the memory of getting thrown out.

"There's a hockey mask, a heart, an S, another S, an M, and an R. There's also a horse, a small spider man, a locket, and a crown," Marissa said aloud as she thought of what each thing meant, and when they'd been given. Summer slid the bracelet onto her wrist.

"Hey ladies, hate to break up the convo, but look what Janet gave us. Apparently, this is what everyone here lives on," Seth explained as he and Ryan held up the 'survival supplies.'

"Wow Cohen. You know what, I think it'll be great to survive on peanut butter and cheap beer." Summer grinned as Seth handed her a bottle.

"So, we'll go out and find some work tomorrow?" Ryan asked the group.

"Sounds like a plan." Seth answered for everyone.

"We need to play a game. But not a dirty one..." Seth muttered. Ryan raised his eyebrows.

"Strip poker!" Summer suggested with a grin. "Ok,

kinda dirty, but hey, I'm not complaining." Said Seth grinning widely.

"Oh no, I don't think Seth wants to play..." Ryan stated in a mocking tone.

"Too bad..."Marissa added.

"Please don't make me beg!" Seth exclaimed, making

everyone laugh. Minutes later, everyone was fully clothed, except Seth himself. He was without penguin polo."You checking me out, Cooper?" Seth asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just noticing that there's not much to check out..." Marissa murmured in response, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Zing!" Seth grumbled.

Soon, hough, both of the guys were stripped down to their boxers, and Summer er and Marissa were fully clothed, sans socks and shoes.

A blond teenaged girl stumbled into the room, confused, and paused for a moment when she noticed the two hot guys stripped down to their boxers.

"Um...heheh...sorry, wrong room!" She said as she exited.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer!" Seth called after her.

"She was so not checking you out Cohen," Summer said, earning an eye brow raise from Ryan, "Was she?"

"No, she was checking Ryan out." Marissa muttered, narrowing her eye brows. Seth looked offended, so Marissa whispered just loud enough that Seth could hear, "Summer's gonna kick that girl's ass if she thinks otherwise moron." She was sorta joking, and her tone conveyed that, but a part of her was serious.

"Let's get back to the game, we're not going down without a fight," Seth smirked, making a welcome change of subject.

"Royal flush," Ryan announced to the group, "So, get stripping Marissa," He added. Marissa removed her top, to reveal another one. Ryan narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, it's the benefit of wearing layers, it just doesn't help _everyone_," Marissa smiled, Seth had been wearing layers too.

"Ha ha. Nice one Princess," Seth jeered.

"Whatever _nerd._" Marissa snapped back, leaving Summer and Ryan to exchange glances that meant "Since when have they been so immature," and continue on to just roll their eyes disinterestedly.

"We have the same taste in music and fine literature, so I'd watch your mouth lady." Seth retorted, causing Summer to clap a hand on both their mouths.

"Cohen, shutup, and Coop, don't let Cohen here egg you on." Summer ordered, doing what she did best.

"You bossing me around again woman?" Seth demanded, in mock annoyance.

"Yeah, I am Cohen, someone needs to try to stabilize your mental state idiot!" Summer snapped.

"You enjoy my instability, we've been over this many, many times." Seth smirked, because she couldn't argue with that. "The more neurotic and insecure I am, the more you like me." Seth said, on a roll.

Ryan and Marissa wondered what Summer would do next, which ended up being the most logical and normal thing to do, smile at him weakly, climb into his arms and nod off.

Seth shrugged at Ryan and Marissa's surprise, which quickly turned to understanding. It's just the way they are.

"Hello you," Ryan said to Marissa as she climbed into his lap quietly.

"Hey." She responded tiredly, rising up and pulling Ryan onto their bed.

"Finally, a good night's sleep." Ryan happily stated as he and Marissa climbed under the covers and held each other tight. Things were starting to feel just like home again.


	4. Good Night and Go

**Good Night and Go**

[AN: Obviously names for the song in the chapter:D Owned by Imogen Heep, not me! I don't own the OC either, sigh Oh, also, the parts that say Summer's POV are, you guessed it, in Summer's POV, and the parts that say Marisa's POV are, you are so genius, in Marissa's POV. Anyway, enjoy, R&R etc.

**Summer's POV**

I love waking up in Seth's warm arms. To anyone else, they look like a chicken arm prison, but to me, they are just heavenly. He's so protective of me when I sleep. Not that he isn't when he's awake, but he always wraps him arms around my waist and pulls me so close to him while we're sleeping together, I observe it every morning when I wake with him. I love it more than anything. I lay here watching him for a while, but soon I get tired of waiting for him to wake up, so I lean over and kiss him. He slowly responds and pulls me on top of him, and slowly I pry his mouth open with my tongue. We kiss for a while, but it's kinda gross to make out when your best friends are in the next bed over, so we stop.

"Mmm, I could get used to waking up like this," Seth mumbles into my ear, and I fall a little more in love.

"Me too Cohen. You are the best pillow ever." I reply, pulling him on top of me.

"I love you Summer." He tells me, sincerity radiating from him.

"I love you too, and I'm sorry for waking you up, cuz you're so cute when you're asleep. Patience is a virtue honey, but I don't got it." I grin, and he smiles back. I wanna kiss him so bad, but I'm reminded by Marissa's soft breathing not to. So instead, Cohen and I laugh and talk quietly under the covers.

"This is fun." Seth commented as he made the blankets form a tent over us.

"Yes, it is, Cohen. It's like we're in our own secret world." I giggled.

"So true baby. Let's play, the kissing game." Seth smiled, and I looked at him skeptically, so he pouted and he made wide puppy eyes.

"Explain the game, and I will consider it." I replied teasingly, and Seth nodded in a business like manner.

"The point of the game is, you or I see how long we can hold out kissing anywhere but the lips." Seth smirked, I could see he was challenging me.

"Oh, it's on Cohen, as long as you know that I'm gonna kick your ass, my resolve is way better than yours," I smirked back confidently.

"I'll go first then Goddess Divine," Seth replied, undeterred.

First he took my hand in his and kissed my palm. He grinned at me. Then he kissed my ear. I shivered. Then he started to bite my ear lobe softly. I gasped. I couldn't last any long and started kissing the hell out of him and he shoved his tongue roughly into my mouth. It had been weeks since we'd gotten to do anything.

**Marissa's POV**

I woke up in a state of confusion. I had no idea where the hell I was. Then I felt a pair of very strong arms wrapped around my lower back. I knew I was with Ryan, and so I was ok. I didn't really care where I was.

"We're in London Riss." Ryan told me, reading my mind quite successfully.

"Good to know Ry." I replied sleepily. Both of us were a bit hung over, and I had a bit of a head ache. I made a feeble attempt to rub my temples to feel better.

"Let me." Ryan said, as he massaged the sides of my head expertly.

"Mmm, you're really good at that," I remarked as I pulled him in for a soft kiss. "Can I return the favor?" I offered.

"Nah, it's ok, my head doesn't hurt. But I could use some coffee or something. You up for it?" Ryan asked me, and I nodded.

"But are Seth and Summer awake?" I wondered aloud as I turned on my side and pushed my hair out of my face to look over. They were clearly making out under the covers. "Gross..." I muttered, and Ryan nodded in agreement.

"We could just talk for a while." Ryan suggested, and added, "I kind of like my current position."

"Oh do you..." I mumbled as I snuggled into his wife beater. I pulled off his shirt to reveal his muscular body, and snuggled into it happily.

"I like your pajamas." Ryan teased, pointing at my Cloud Nine is Fine themed bed clothes.

"Hmm...we could take them off." I suggestively murmured. Ryan nodded and proceeded to take off my top.

"_Much _better." Ryan smiled, and I smiled back into a deep kiss. Then I heard this coughing sound, and I turned over to see Seth and Summer looking down at us.

"No extracurriculars this early." Seth criticized and Summer just raised an eye brow. I embarrassedly pulled my top back on.

"Like you can talk Seth, I heard you groaning over there." I smirked, and Seth sheepishly turned away.

"Uh, um...what time is it anyway?" Summer asked as she looked over at the clock. Smooth subject change, I thought.

**No one's point of view**

"How can it only be 2:00 AM?" Seth groaned, obviously he hadn't thought of the time difference thing.

"It's okay Cohen. Let's just find something to do." Summer suggested.

"Uh...ok." Marissa added. No one seemed really sure of what to do though.

"We can start by dressing." Ryan said, apparently noticing he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Good idea Atwood." Summer smirked as she walked over to Seth's bag and grabbing a sweater and shoving it over her head. Marissa walked over to Ryan's bag and grabbed a hoody, as did he.

"Oh my god you guys, do you realize what we're wearing?" Seth twitched.

"Um...haha! Marissa and Ryan are wearing the same grey hoody!" Summer cried, laughing. She pulled on a pair of purple bed socks and tossed Marissa a pair.

"Thanks Sum." Marissa said, ignoring the comment about the hoody. She didn't care, and neither did Seth. They were just trying to make conversation.

"So, uh...let's make some house rules maybe?" Ryan suggested. Everyone looked perturbed. "Um, it might seem weird to have curfew and stuff, or a meeting place, but I think it would actually make sense, in case something happens, you know?" Ryan stated in question form.

"Uh...curfew...so unless you call, be back by midnight." Seth shrugged.

"Sounds good." Marissa answered for the group.

Summer bit her lip and said what everyone was thinking. "This is so, like, beyond weird. We're like, setting our own house rules. Like how weird is this?" Summer inquired of the group. Everyone plopped down on Seth and Summer's bed.

"Really weird." Marissa confessed. Seth nodded, and Ryan did too.

"We're going to make this ok." Seth promised.

"Well, think of it this way. We were always going to leave Newport eventually, so this is just, you know...think of it as practice." Ryan said.

"That'd be great Atwood, if this were really how it was gonna be." Summer replied.

"What, you mean living in a cheap hotel where everyone lives off of cheap beer and peanut butter and work under legal age?" Seth asked sarcastically.

Summer punched Seth. "Uh, no smart ass, I meant all of us living together like a real family." Summer snapped. "Because as weird as this might seem right now, when it's all over...I mean we _are _seniors in high school. Things are going to change eventually. We can't run from it." Summer rambled, voicing all the thoughts floating around in everyone's heads.

"Summer, no matter what happens, no matter where we go, we're always going to be friends. I really want it to be that way at least." Marissa told her best friend, as she took her hand.

"I think this kind of proves that." Ryan added, gesturing a bit.

"You guys, we left the country with Ryan so that we could be together." Seth put in.

"I don't want this to end. I need all of you." Marissa said in despair.

"There's no use in worrying about it now. Because right now we need to focus on the present." Ryan tried to calm his girlfriend, but she still seemed a bit distraught.

"Will we ever go to college?" Summer whispered. Everyone stared at the ground. Over the course of a few minutes, one by one, they looked up at each other and locked eyes. Summer and Marissa hugged tightly, and their boyfriend's hugged them too.

"Come on you guys, we have something great to put in our essays now. I get to write about running away from home with my three best friends." Summer jovially grinned. They all laughed through their tears.

"Summer, my little optimist." Seth said, grinning widely at his girlfriend. "I'm so proud of you!" Seth kissed her cheek.

"You are very cheesy." Marissa teased, sticking her tongue out at Seth.

"You are wearing one of Ryan's hoodies. And you look funny in it." Seth snapped back.

"Let's go see if we can find coffee or water, we can't just continue to get drunk." Summer said as she and the others rose and left the room. They crept down the hall and noticed some lights flashing outside. They looked suspiciously like police car lights.

"Oh. My. God." Summer whispered. They heard voices in the hall.

"We're going to need to check all the rooms here. We have reason to believe persons on the premises are in possession of illegal drugs." An officer told Janet, who was nervously standing at the front desk.

"We need to get out of here." Marissa whispered, and all nodded and ran to their room. They quickly packed their clothes and threw on jeans.

Seth grabbed Summer's hand, Summer grabbed Marissa's, and Marissa grabbed Ryan's hand. They ran out the fire escape and into a dark alley.

Marissa's eyes widened when she realized they had hit a dead end. Or so it seemed. Actually, they had reached a wall with a ladder. Having no where else to go, and the sirens still within hearable distance, the four friends started to climb, Ryan first because he was the strongest and could reach the top quickly.

"It's the roof of a hotel." Ryan reported to his friends when he reached the top. "It seems safe, and there's a trap door." He added. The other three continued to climb, passing their bags along to Ryan.

They cautiously opened the trap door and found themselves falling into the attic of an old, old hotel. There was a door in the dusty room, and it was luckily unlocked.

"Thank Jesus and Moses." Seth cried as they reached the elevator and hit down.

"This place is pretty nice." Summer observed as they stepped out into the lobby.

"I'll go get us a room." Marissa offered as she walked over to the desk alone.

10 minutes later, the four friends were settling into their room. "Well, this place is a lot more expensive than the other one, but at least we don't need to worry about drug busts taking place." Said Marissa as she sat down in the cushy chair in the far left corner of the room. She scooted over to make room for Ryan.

"Wooohooo!" Seth cried as he jumped onto the bed. Summer rolled her eyes at Seth's antics.

"I feel safer now." Summer whispered to Seth. He nodded.

"I'm glad," Seth stated as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Feel better now?" He grinned.

"Mmm. Stay just like this and then..." Summer mumbled as she positioned himself so she could kiss him. They all fell asleep again, feelings of contentment filling them to the brim. They were slowly learning to see the glass half full.

Meanwhile, in Newport, the same could not be said for their parents in the contentment department. Jimmy, Julie, Neil, Sandy, and Kirsten were in the Cohen kitchen trying to figure out where their kids could possibly have disappeared to.

"They're smart...too smart..." Julie muttered under her breath. Sandy and Kirsten nodded, while Neil looked frustrated, and Jimmy just sighed. They had been over this many, many times.

"Here's the frame of mind we need to be in: We are four kids with a decent sum of money in a foreign country. Where would we go and how would we appear inconspicuous?" Julie asked the group of parents.

"Well, the first thing is, they're all under 18, except Marissa, and they don't have visas. So they aren't going to be able to get real jobs anywhere reputable." Sandy stated.

"Yeah, but that only works in their favor." Jimmy put in, because it was true. Their would be no record of them that way. He looked nervous.

"How did they originally get out of the country, though, because their was no surveillance footage of them, anywhere." Sandy brought up, narrowing his eyes at Jimmy, who averted his immediately. "I think the kids escaped by _boat._" Sandy added pointedly. Everyone gasped at the implication of the statement.

"Jimmy wouldn't have done that...I mean..." Julie trailed off. "Oh my god. You sympathized with them, so you let them go. You've known for days that they left by way of your boat, and you never said a word!" Julie exclaimed, seething.

"Now, Jules, they were going to..." Jimmy got cut off.

"Don't you Jules me you son of a bitch!" Julie cried as she slapped him hard across the face.

Neil shook his head angrily. "You do realize that this means they could be anywhere. Your kid knows how to sail, am I right?" Neil asked the Cohens, and they nodded.

"Yeah, Seth is basically an expert, he could've taken them anywhere." Sandy sighed. Kirsten just stormed off. If only they knew what their kids were going through thousands of miles away. It isn't fair for teenagers to go through things like they were on their own, but those were the cards dealt to them by fate. Because truthfully, if they were around, they'd still be learning the hard way. That's just how it turned out for them.


	5. Once in a While

**Once in a While**

[AN: Thanks for all the fantabulous reviews! Alright then, this chapter takes place two and a half months after the last one. **If you want a sequel or even another chapter, say so in your review or this is the final chapter. **R&R Oh, also I don't own the OC, because if I did, this would've been part of my re-write of S3. So enjoy!

Summer and Marissa had been working everyday for the past two months at the hotel's front desk. They had been really low on workers, and since they didn't appear to be rough characters they never bothered to check up on whether or not they had Visas. They went by fake names. Summer as Candice and Marissa as Lorna. Seth worked as a supervisor at the construction yard while Ryan hauled lumber around the construction yard in his wife beater. Everyone was feeling pretty at home with their jobs.

"You two are off now, Happy Holidays," The girl's boss told them as she handed them each their checks for 907 pounds (1800 dollars).

"Thanks Mel, see you later." Marissa called as she and Summer rushed out the door and onto the street. They were going to meet up with the boys, but first they had to go grocery shopping. Whenever any on of them got a pay check, they bought necessary items and saved the rest. The last time Sandy had called, about a month ago, he had said that the investigation on Trey's motives was going forward, and that Julie was under investigation because of the check found in Julie's possession. Kirsten was very stressed out, to put it mildly, because of the departure of the boys, but Sandy was helping her keep it together. Chrismukkah was starting the next day, and so Marissa and Summer were trying to stock up on some near decent food.

"Should we get apples?" Summer implored of her friend, who seemed very distracted. Marissa stared at her finger nails, which were painted black.

"Uh...ok..." Marissa muttered as she continued to look in the other direction distractedly.

"And I'm going to get a pregnancy test because um, I think I might be pregnant." Summer openly added.

"That's good..." Marissa trailed off tiredly as she ran a hand through her long hair, which was still dyed black.

"Coop!" Summer yelled at the top of her lungs, finally succeeding in getting her tense friend's attention.

"Wha...oh I'm sorry Sum, I'm just a bit preoccupied." Marissa sighed as she screwed her face up tight.

"Riss, what's wrong?" Summer quietly asked her friends. The two of them walked out of the shop, deciding to put off the buying of food until later.

"Oh...it's just don't you think Sandy should've called with some good news by now?" Marissa whined. She had good reason too, it had been a while since they'd gotten news of any kind, let alone good news.

"Ah...well, about that. I think Ryan's gonna call tonight. He said Sandy texted him." Summer told her friend, and Marissa nodded.

"It's all my fault Sum. It's all my fault that you and Cohen and Ryan are throwing away your futures." Marissa quietly muttered. Before Summer could protest, Marissa continued. "Now, don't object, we all know it's true. And when we finally get back home, I will make it up to you."

"Coop, I–we wanted to come. We're not throwing anything away. I thought we'd been over this." Summer wrapped an arm around her friend as they walked down the concrete streets. Marissa nodded once again. They neared the construction site and saw Seth and Ryan laughing and walking out the gate.

"Hello you!" Seth beamed as he walked up to Summer and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey Cohen..." Summer trailed off as she narrowed her eyes at Marissa and Ryan's interaction. It definitely looked off. "Coop is being really off." Summer whispered to Seth. He looked over and observed the same.

"Why?" He inquired of his girlfriend under his breath, and she shook her head to convey that she had no idea why.

"Uh, Ry...can I have a word?" Seth muttered to his brother out of the corner of his mouth. Ryan looked confused.

"Yeah Coop, I need to talk to you about something too." Summer added to help Seth out. Ryan narrowed his eyes and linked arms with Marissa.

"Why are you two trying to corner us?" Ryan inquired of his friends. He seemed to be sort of joking, but sort of not.

"Coop we need to log in some serious friend time." Summer complained.

"We just spent the whole day at work together." Marissa said.

"Seth Ryan time is beckoning wouldn't you say?" Seth implored of his brother.

"Uh, no, I think as Summer would put it we need to 'log some serious couple time.'" Marissa grinned. Ryan laughed. But then she shiftily glanced from side to side.

"Oh, there is definitely something wrong with Coop." Summer mumbled. "What are we gonna do Cohen?" Summer whisper-whined to her boyfriend.

"Eh...leave it alone till whatever it is comes up. She'll talk when she's ready. For now, let's just chill. Chrismukkah's tomorrow!" Seth exclaimed. And then he grinned really wide.

"Yup it is Cohen. We need to stop by the grocery store and..." Summer began before she got cut off.

"Get some serious grub!" Seth yelled happily.

"EW!" Summer shrieked, rolling her eyes. Ryan smiled, and Seth smirked.

"We do need some food though," Ryan put in lazily. Seth nodded in agreement.

"Why is it that Ryan can say 'food,' but you have to say detestable phrases such as 'grub,'" Summer demanded of her boyfriend.

"Cuz otherwise everyone will get bored." Seth offered, to which Summer didn't reply. Instead, she took his hand and swung it smiling. Summer seemed to appreciate Seth's goofiness deep down.

"Um...you guys, you don't need to get food for tomorrow. I kinda planned a surprise." Marissa stated, turning around to look at Summer and Seth.

"Cool." Seth answered. Summer nodded; finally she knew why Coop had been being so weird.

"Riss, you shouldn't have done that. At least not without my help." Ryan said. Marissa shrugged.

"Well, then it wouldn't have been a surprise." Marissa offered as explanation.

"I guess that's true." Ryan replied. Now they were within a few blocks of the hotel, and Marissa seemed increasingly nervous. From where they were, you could see the front of the hotel.

Seth, being the tallest, had the best view, and was the first to notice. "Oh my god," He choked out.

"What? Cohen, WHAT?!" Summer demanded. But Seth had been rendered speechless. Instead, he picked her up and perched her on his shoulders so she could see.

Ryan looked up to see Summer's eyes nearly double in size. But she didn't say anything. Summer hopped off of Seth's shoulders. "The Cohens! They're here! But how?!" Summer cried as she looked around wildly in every direction. Seth was still completely silent.

"They're here because when they investigated my mom, and they found out the check was from her. Then Sandy got Trey a deal so he had another chance to fess up. In the end, Trey told the truth, yesterday." Marissa smiled as she watched her friend's faces go through a myriad of emotions.

"Well, there is but one explanation for this occurrence in our otherwise unlucky lives." Seth grinned.

"What?" Ryan asked in a care free tone. Seth twitched. This was an odd tone for Ryan. Then he decided to discount it.

"It's a Chrismukkah MIRACLE!" Seth explained, yelling and whooping as the four of them broke out into a full out run. People had to jump out of their way as they ran to the Cohens.

"Seth! Ryan!" Sandy exclaimed as his sons came into view. Kirsten began to cry joyously as Seth and Ryan ran into her and Sandy's arms.

Summer and Marissa hugged, mouths curved into smiles and eyes watering.

"Oh my god, Coop, you knew and you didn't tell us!" Summer realized. She stopped hugging her friend to look at her in wonder.

"I wanted to do something special for you guys to pay you back. I thought it would be more meaningful this way." Marissa explained. "This is only part one of the surprise. Just you guys wait!" Marissa smiled with a glint in her eye.

"Why were you acting so nervous Coop?" Summer inquired of her friend.

"Well, I wanted to throw you guys off. Plus I thought you might see me as a traitor for not telling you." Marissa added.

"Thanks so much Riss. I love you." Ryan whispered in Marissa's ear, his breath tickling her ear.

"I love you too Ry." Marissa mumbled back. And they started to make out, right there on the side walk.

"Ugh. Stop with the PDA you two!" Summer wailed and Seth made retching sounds.

"It's flu season people. Have some decency." Seth spat in disgust.

Sandy and Kirsten chuckled. "Somethings never change." Sandy observed as the four teens teased each other.

"But now we have to talk about all that school that you two missed." Kirsten seriously told the kids.

"Right, sure, um, maybe we can squeeze that in later. But for now, let's just be clear, none of us are being charged with any crimes, yes?" Seth implored of his parents, who nodded and grinned at his moronic tendencies.

"This is so awesome!" Seth cried as he rested an arm on Summer and Marissa's shoulders, and Summer put an arm on Ryan's shoulder. "Is it just me, or has the world just gotten a bit brighter," Seth asked Marissa.

"Definitely not just you." Marissa giggled, feeling so free.

"Oh my god, I just noticed, all of you have strange hair!" Kirsten exclaimed.

"Wow, your powers of observation, well, suck don't they?" Seth smirked, sticking his tongue out at his mom.

"My hair is 'Brilliant Black,'" Marissa offered.

"My hair is 'Brunette Bombshell,'" Ryan muttered, but no one could hear him.

"Hey, Ryan, I don't think mom and dad heard you, what was that," Seth wickedly grinned.

"MY HAIR IS DYED BRUNETTE BOMBSHELL!" Ryan asserted loudly, making everyone crack up.

"I think everyone in London knows now Atwood." Summer smirked.

"Maybe I'm proud of it. I think it's a good look for me." Ryan quipped, he was uncharacteristically up beat.

All the while, Sandy and Kirsten listened to the kids snapping at each other. There was something different in their voices, in their body language, especially towards each other. The way they walked in a line, arms around each-other's shoulders. Not only did the couples seem closer, but the group as friends seemed closer too. Being on the run with people for a few months could do that.

"Time for our lovely Chrismukkah dinner, and I promise, no school talk until after you've told us of your adventures!" Said Kirsten. Soon they would be coming home to the land of responsibility. How different would things be after getting a breath of air outside the bubble? Only time will tell.


End file.
